The Most Amazing Oven Cleaning Hacks You Need to Try

Does your oven feel impossible to get completely clean? No worries. To help save you time (and stress), we’ve compiled several incredible oven cleaning hacks. These cleaning tricks have the internet blowing up (and none of them use harsh chemicals, oven cleaners, or other harmful cleaning solutions).

Get out your kitchen cleaning checklist, and get ready to check your oven off the list.

Here are the best oven cleaning hacks.

Vacuum first

This might sound strange, but the best way to begin your cleaning adventure is to vacuum the inside of your oven. By vacuuming first, you get the dust, dirt, debris, and grime out of the range before you begin scrubbing (and just pushing/spreading the mess around)

The iRobot H1 Handheld Vacuum is a good choice for the job. It is cordless, making it easy to navigate the angles of an oven, and the crevice attachment will help you get that hard-to-reach spot between the door and the stove.

Pro tip: Vacuum the bottom of the oven first – even if you are using the self-cleaning option.

Soaking oven knobs

Next, take off those oven knobs! These bad boys are full of sticky grime that you don’t notice until you remove your hand from the knob and notice how gross it is.

If you use your oven often, you know that oil splatters all over the stovetop, knobs, and oven door.

The best way to remove this grime easily is to use a bit of white vinegar. The acidity in white vinegar (and certain dish soaps) cuts through kitchen grease, the byproduct of the bacon and eggs you’ve been eating every morning.

Here’s what to do:

• Get a large bowl and a spray bottle.
• Gather the knobs in the bowl filled with white vinegar.
• In the spray bottle, add 4 cups of white vinegar, and 4 cups of water (and essential oils, if you’re so inclined). The best essential oils for a cleaning solution are lemon, tea tree, or eucalyptus. You can add a dash of lemon juice as an alternative to essential oils.
• While the knobs soak, spray the area where the knobs were to get the gunk off the front of your oven. Wipe down this area with paper towels, which won’t cross-contaminate the rest of your range like a sponge.

After five minutes, rinse the knobs in warm water, dry them, and replace them.

Cleaning oven racks

Have you opened your oven lately and taken a good look at your oven racks? When you purchased the oven, they were glorious stainless steel works of art, and now they’re covered in grime and greasy build-up. But, a little baking soda will get them right back into shape.

Here is a zero-pain way to naturally remove build-up and clean your oven racks.

First, gather these simple ingredients and tools:

• Baking Soda: The baking soda breaks down baked-on grease.
• Hot Water: Softens the hardened grime covering your oven racks.
• Microfiber Cloth: Wipe down the oven without spreading germs.
• Toothbrush: Get that stubborn baked-on cheese from that pizza you dropped with a toothbrush.

Now, fill your bathtub with hot water and 3 cups of baking soda. Add the oven racks to the tub, and let them soak overnight. The next day, wipe down the oven racks with your damp cloth, then get the remaining mess off with a toothbrush.

By now, your oven racks are sparkling clean! Rinse and dry them before re-installing them.

Making your stovetop and oven glass shine

Have you ever made spaghetti and NOT  burnt that sauce onto your stovetop? If you answered yes, pat yourself on the back. You are the only one! We need a fantastic cleaning tip for the rest of us to get that glass sparkling again.

You won’t need harsh chemicals to get your oven glass door or stovetop glass shining again — just baking soda! Mix water (three parts) and baking soda (one part) together in a bowl. This solution will create a baking soda cleaning paste. Now, cover the oven glass door and glass stovetop with the paste. Let the baking soda paste sit for fifteen minutes.

While you’re waiting, the baking soda and hot water combination are doing the tough job of softening the grime. After fifteen minutes, use a sponge or damp cloth to wipe down the glass.

Last, use a glass cleaner to get any remaining streaks off the glass. And, just like that, your stovetop and oven glass door will glisten like new.

Cleaning the interior glass of (between the oven door) the oven door takes a bit more work.

1. Unhinge the oven door from the oven. This is a two-person job, so be sure to get a volunteer before attempting to remove the door. You don’t want to end up with a shattered door on your kitchen floor!
2. Add dish soap and hot water to a bowl and soak a towel in the solution.
3. Wrap the damp towel around a yardstick and secure it with rubber bands.
4. Stick the cloth-covered end of the yardstick into the opening of the oven door.
5. Scrub the stains until they’re gone.
6. Remove soap residue from the towel, re-wet it with warm water, and reinsert it into the oven door to get the soap residue off the door.
7. Next, get a lint-free, dry towel, secure it to the yardstick, and push it through the opening to dry the glass.
8. Re-install the oven door.

Razor blade

Is your oven glass or interior oven covered in the greasy build-up? Get out the razor blade! Use a straight blade razor or scraper before using the baking soda method for cleaning your oven glass door. Scrape the grime off with the razor blade, and then add the baking soda and hot water mixture to the door. Let it sit, and then wipe it down.

Dishwasher tablet

A dishwasher tablet is an easy oven cleaning hack. First, scrape out (or vacuum) the gunk and debris on the bottom of your oven. Then, wipe it down with hot water and dish soap to get any loose food bits.

Now, get a bowl of warm water and a dishwasher tablet. Take the center of the tablet and drop it into the bowl of water. Then, wet the tablet’s exterior and scrub your oven as if it were a sponge.

Side note: avoid the heating elements with this cleaning method.

Once you’ve scrubbed the oven, wipe it down with a damp cloth. Then, to ensure there aren’t any dishwasher tablet bits that you’ve missed, use a vacuum to suck up any leftover dishwasher tablet crumbs. Full disclosure, when cleaning the entire interior of the oven, this method can take over an hour to complete.

To clean the oven glass door with a dishwasher tablet, repeat this same process, but it takes only fifteen minutes!

Water & Lemon

Lemon is packed with antibacterial and antiseptic properties, making it ideal for cleaning—bonus points for the lemon rind, which adds shine to your oven.

If you’re interested in cleaning the inside of the oven with lemon and hot water, here’s how to do it:

• Grab an oven-safe bowl and fill it with water.
• Cut two lemons and squeeze them into the bowl.
• Add the lemon halves to the bowl.
• Place the bowl inside your oven and turn the oven on.
• Allow the water to boil before turning the oven off.
• Wait while the steam circulates throughout the oven.

This process will loosen up all of the gunk inside your oven before cleaning it.

To clean your stovetop with lemon, cut the lemon in half and rub it all over the glass. Then, wipe it down with a damp towel, and you’re done!

Dryer Sheets

Clean your oven racks with dryer sheets. Place six to eight dryer sheets in your bathtub. Next, place your oven racks in the tub with liquid dish soap. Let the racks soak in the tub overnight. The next day, use the dryer sheets to scrub the oven rack. If you still have gunk on your oven racks, use a scrubbing brush or toothbrush to get the remnants off.

Let your oven do the cleaning

What is the easiest way to clean the inside of your oven? You guessed it! Have the oven clean itself.

But, if you’ve ever used your self-cleaning function on your oven, then you know that a very dirty oven will result in a smoky house. When self-cleaning, follow these directions to avoid the common self-cleaning oven pitfalls.

Before you begin, look at the oven’s manual, so you know how to do it right. Smoke will happen, so ventilate the space and move any pets from the area. The smoke can be toxic to pets, especially birds.

Next, remove anything in your warming drawers and the oven racks. If you keep the oven racks in the oven during self-cleaning, they will get a coating that makes it difficult to remove them later.

After you strip your oven, scrape the bottom of the range with a razor or scraper and wipe down with a damp cloth to remove debris from the oven. Vacuum the inside of the oven to get all of the little burnt bits before turning on the self-cleaning function.

Turn the self-cleaning function on. During this time, the oven will heat up, turning all of the gunk to ash as if it were a bonfire.

Wipe down the inside of the oven once the self-cleaning cycle completes. Now, you’re done!

Get that dirty oven clean without cleaning products using these DIY oven cleaning hacks. When you’re done, your oven will look brand new.